Sports in Paradise by Dale JonesAlabama? Oregon? Florida? Notre Dame? Who is going to win out in the end?

What about Kansas State? And yes, even LSU won’t go away as they climb back up in the polls.

Week nine brings us some very interesting contests that might help us filter out some of the madness.

I enjoyed an almost perfect week of prognostications last Saturday, missing only one game and going 14-1. That takes my season record to 92-28 for a .766 winning percentage. Hopefully we can keep it going this week, but this week there are some biggies.

That being said, here is what will happen this coming Saturday:

UAB @ Tulane
The Blazers keep flirting with wins, but finding a way to lose. Even big games at home have given UAB no advantage. The Blazers have a better defense and a much better offense than the Green Wave, and should be able to get conference win number one on Saturday. UAB 24 – Tulane 17

Troy @ Florida Atlantic
Since opening the season with a win against Wagner, the Owls have dropped six straight, including last week’s close one against South Alabama. Even in their three losses, the Trojans have proven that they can put points on the board. Larry Blakeney’s squad will enjoy a successful trip to Florida on Saturday. Troy 33 – Florida Atlantic 21

Notre Dame @ Oklahoma
The Fighting Irish football team is for real. Ranked No. 5, they have a very balanced offense and a stingy defense. The win over BYU last week was not a pretty sight, but still, Notre Dame found a way to win. Oklahoma, ranked No. 8 in the BCS, will be no pushover. The Sooners have put up 69, 63, and 52 points in three of their five wins, and with this game being played in Norman, one would almost have to give the edge to the home team. Almost – but not this time. Notre Dame 35 – Oklahoma 31.

Nebraska vs. Michigan
Who would have thought, at the beginning of this season, that this Michigan team would struggle with the likes of Air Force or Michigan State? At the same time, Nebraska, with the 12th ranked offense in the country, is just trying to get back into the top 25. A win for the Cornhuskers will tie them up with Michigan in the Big Ten standings, and based on what we have seen this season, a 10-point win against the Wolverines at home would not be that surprising. Nebraska 30 – Michigan 20

Vandy vs. Massachusetts
Coming off of their win over Auburn last Saturday, the Commodores now have a better SEC record than Tennessee, Ole Miss, Arkansas and Auburn. When was the last time that happened? They could possibly run the table on the rest of their season and wind up 8-4 and in a pretty good bowl game. A winless Minutemen team will not stop their momentum. Vandy 41 – Massachusetts 14

Kentucky vs. Missouri
So here we are in week 9 of the season and both teams are still looking for their first SEC victory. Neither fan base has had much to cheer about this season, so somebody will be happy following the Saturday afternoon contest in Columbia. My guess is it will be the home team. Missouri 27 – Kentucky 10

Ole Miss @ Arkansas
On the ground, the advantage goes to the Rebels. In the air, advantage Arkansas. After getting off to a very rough start, the Razorbacks now have back-to-back SEC wins and hope to make it three in a row. Ole Miss has had a week off to regroup and hopes to get win number five. This game will come down to which defense plays best and which offense makes the fewest mistakes. I like the Rebels in this one. Ole Miss 24 – Arkansas 23

South Carolina vs. Tennessee
Both teams are still trying to recover from the beat down they each took last week. For Steve Spurrier, this game is about pride. For Derek Dooley, it’s about trying to keep his job. On both sides of the ball, South Carolina has a better football team, and the final score will confirm that. South Carolina 28 – Tennessee 24

Florida vs. Georgia
Although all of the anti-SEC football fans won’t acknowledge it, this game could be the best game of the week. The Gators and the Dawgs are battling it out to keep their SEC championship hopes alive. Most SEC fans have always recognized the strength of the Gators on the offensive side of the ball. This year, it is their 7th ranked defense that continues to get the job done, with 20 points being the most scored on them in any one game. Georgia, however, likes to put points up, having scored 41 or more in five of their seven games. Florida is ranked No. 2 in the BCS and the swamp will, no doubt, be rocking. Florida 31 – Georgia 28

Auburn vs. Texas A&M
So what that Auburn has been “in the game” until the fourth quarter of several of their contests. Auburn is bad and is giving no indication that they are improving. The Aggies are enjoying a reasonably good first year in the SEC with several more key games to go. Not sure Auburn will even win another game. Texas A&M 28 – Auburn 21

Upset of the Week:
Alabama vs. Mississippi State
Before you Tide fans start sending me hate mail, hear me out. I believe Alabama could very well win the National Championship. They obviously have a very good team. This matchup really is interesting. Both teams are undefeated on the season. They are No. 1 and No. 2 in the SEC West. Alabama has not scored less than 33 points in a game. State has not scored less than 27. The most interesting aspect of this game is the QB stats. McCarron has a completion percentage of 68%, 1,476 yards passing, 16 TDs and no INTs. Tyler Russell is at 60%, 1,573 yards, 15 TD’s, and only 1 INT. Bama has Amari Cooper to catch the ball and State has LaDarius Perkins to run the ball. The biggest red flag I have is that neither team has truly played a tough schedule. State has beaten teams like South Alabama, Middle Tennessee State and Jackson State. At the same time, the teams that Alabama has beaten collectively have a losing (24-25) record. Running the table in the SEC is virtually impossible. Doing it back-to-back is completely impossible. They say all good things must come to an end. Mississippi State 33 – Alabama 31.

—Dale Jones is a syndicated sports columnist, member of the Alabama Sports Writers Association, the Football Writers Association of America, and the Society of Professional Journalists. Email Dale at sportsNparadise@gmail.com or follow on twitter @sportsNparadise.

13 Comments

Not sure about your State pick over Alabama. They very well could win the game, but you seem to be leaving out some important facts and stating some that are incorrect. You state that Alabama’s opponent’s overall record is 24-25, but State’s opponent’s overall record is worse and against lower-level competition (20-32). So that argument would hold more water if you said that about State. Also, Alabama didn’t run the table in the SEC last year…so doing it back-to-back WOULD be impossible I guess. Should be a tough game, but I think Alabama wins. If the best offense Alabama has played to date -Tennessee – (or so everyone was saying last Friday) could only muster 13 points, I don’t see State putting up 20 more than that.

I got 17-32 on State’s opponents record. Bama is beating a tougher schedule by 33 points per game. Miss, State is beating a far lesser schedule by 22 points a game. Lt. Dan Dale even thinks that Georgia is playing in the swamp this week.
Miss. State has struggled with Auburn, Kentucky, Troy and Tennessee. Lt. Dan Dale thinking they will put 30+ on Bama at home or even win the game is just wishful thinking on his part.
The average score over the last 4 games between the two is Bama 29 Miss. State 7

Ya’ll have to understand that this fucking moron can’t pick dangle berries out of his ass. I’ve ripped his dumbass picks more than once. He’s an embarrassment to have in this site. Notre Dame is the worst undefeated team I’ e seen in a long time. I would take Rutgers over them. OU will em arrasse them. Thank God! And still a homer retard dissing a damn good Michigan team. Nebraska will have to play 4 times better than they did Saturday just to stay competitive with Michigan. And only the dumbest son of a bitch in the universe would ever predict Mississippi St to score 33 fucking points on Bama’s defense. Hell, the New Orleans Saints couldn’t score 33 on Bama. The only way MSU beats Bama is to return a kick for a TD and win 7-0, and AJ just ‘ain’t gonna let that happen with this offense. Dude, go away and stay away – please. RTR!

Dale, Dale, Dale. Really? After playing cream puffs like Jax State, Auburn, Troy, USA, and Middle TN, Miss State will finally play with the big boys on Saturday and I am sorry to inform you that they just can’t hang. While I know you wish the Tide would go down like your beloved Tigers have over and over this season, it just isn’t going to happen this week. A true upset would be Colorado over Oregon. Go Buffaloes!

this guy is another moron making a living (?) typing about something he has NO KNOWLEDGE of. MSU has played one of the weakest schedules in all of college ball. ole ding dong dale is lost, dazed, and dumb. You’ll see Saturday night.

33 points on this defense!!!!!!! Not even going there..Crimson Tide covers the 24 spread.. BAMA 43 STATE17””””””RTR.. Sunday morning i take that money from a BAMA win and put it on Saints Denver game to go over 55;;Dam what a weekend.. RTR

Well well looks like you were wrong and i was right..24 was not even enough!! Now Dale i will go ahead and tell you the Crimson Tide will roll in Tiger nation…Mettburger will throw at least two int and i look for the Tigers to get 14 against the Tide,,wink wink maybe..Any how lay down the points and take the Tide..Get out the way the train is coming thru!!ROLL TIDE ROLL”””””

Actually I don’t think LSWho can score 14 on our defense. That would be givung them credit for having an Offense as good as Michigan, Ole Miss and Tennessee and better than Miss St which they don’t. I’ll go on a limb and say maybe 10. 34-10 Bama. I was wrong about Notre Dame. After watching them all season I was not impressed. Who knew they actually had an offense. Hell their coach was even surprised. But then again who did they play – Chokelahoma. Should have known. And Michigan I’m not taking credit for. They were even with Nebraska in the 1st quarter when they lost Robinson for the game. Everyone knows they have no offense and no chance without Robinson who always accounts for 95% of their offense.